Beau swung an arm around her shoulder when she stepped out. “Come on.”
“You can’t be serious.” Sienna tugged him to a halt and shook her head. “You have aplane?”
“No. I don’thavea plane. But there’s one here that happens to be waiting to take us to LA.”
Sienna didn’t know what to think. “Why didn’t we fly commercial?”
“I told you long ago,” he began, his voice lowering. “You and me, we’re too tall for the regular mile-high club.” He motioned his head toward the plane, holding his hand out for Sienna.
“What... ”
And then she remembered. In between heated kisses and overstrung teenage hormones, Beau and Sienna had snuck a few naughty items on their wish list—like sex on a plane. She burst into a fit of laughter.
“What’s so funny?”
Pressing a hand to her chest, she stifled her giggles. “I must’ve really made you feel bad for you to work so hard for it.”
Beau cracked a grin, nudging her with his hip as they walked to the plane. He pulled her closer, dropping a kiss into her hair. “Don’t apologize. Turns out, I kind of like the chase.”
chaptersixteen
Beau didn’t justlike the chase and pursuit of Sienna—he lived for it. Nothing made Beau happier than witnessing the shock and joy that radiated from her with every surprise he pulled out of his hat in an effort, not just to make amends or win her back, to prove she never was the thing he left behind without a doubt.
He had left her behind with too many doubts and too much regret and spent many nights awake wondering about all the missed opportunities—things beyondherwish list, ones that includedhisdreams.
All the things Sienna hoped to do in her life were eclectic, mismatched, symbolic of the adventurous little girl who was once his closest friend, the daring side of her teenage personality she thought she had lost when her mother died. There was Dole Whip and sailboats. A fancy five-course meal and a motorcycle ride. Flying high in the sunset and sinking into the dark ocean.
Beau’s dreams had a bottom line in common—they all included Sienna.
Football had beenGreg’sdream Beau had silently vowed to fulfill. But what Beau had wished for wasmore—more laughter and memories, breathless kisses and swims in the lake, plans for the future and a family—all with his best friend.
The chase was to get her back, but sitting across from Sienna on the plane, Beau realized everything he did for her brought him a gift as well—learning who Sienna was now. Hardened but compassionate. Cautious but, as he recalled dancing behind the bar the night he hijacked Maloney’s, still down for a good time. The quirky things she did made Beau smile—like saved contacts in her phone with the last name first, or how she twirled her right earring when nervous, how her eyes fluttered shut well before he kissed her, as if the anticipation was just as intense as what was coming.
But some things remained the same, even through time, distance, and struggle, like Sienna’s listening ear, the ever-present bump in her hair when she tied it back, no matter how hard she smoothed it down. And Beau realized—sitting across from Sienna on the plane with her nose nearly pressed to the window—her love for the endless sky and all the magic and beauty it held.
“You’re free to move about the cabin now. Flight time is three hours and ten minutes,” the flight attendant said, approaching them. “I’ll bring out a cheese plate and the menu for you to look at.”
Beau shook his head, not taking his eyes off Sienna. “That can wait, thank you.”
“Since when do you say no to cheese?” she teased.
“I’m hungry for something else.” Beau tipped back the remaining champagne in the flute and stood, motioning toward the back of the cabin. “Famished, actually.” He slid open a sleek pocket door, and Sienna followed.
She looked around at the space of the bedroom—the full-sized bed with white sheets and fluffy pillows, the shiny nightstands with matching laps. “Is it still the mile-high club if it’snotin an airplane bathroom?”
Locking the door, Beau leaned against it, smirking. “I won’t tell if you won’t,” he whispered.
“Wish list,” she said, and Beau came up behind her. “I can’t remember if it was yours or mine, honestly.”
She shivered when Beau pushed her hair to the side, nuzzling the soft skin of her neck.
“Really?” he asked, tasting the space below her ear. “You can’t?”
Sienna reached up, winding her hands into Beau’s hair, tilting her head back when he nipped at the skin before swiping his tongue to soothe the sting. The soft, sweet moan she let out brought a smile to Beau’s face.Another old thing, he thought.She always makesthatsound when I kissrighthere.He hit the spot again, and the noise Sienna released was louder, but Beau didn’t smile that time. Instead, he kissed and sucked harder before pulling back, his hands going to her hips to turn her.
“I remember everything,” he whispered as if in confession. “Everything we did.” Beau wasn’t just talking about the nights that tested his dwindling teenage patience and self-control, Sienna writhing beneath him in her bed as they tried—in hindsight, probably not enough—to stay quiet.
Beau was talking about the summer afternoons they spent swimming in the lake, alternating floating along the surface and jumping from the rope swing he had built for her. It was about nights on the roof, where they talked about everything and nothing at the same time. Beau had never let go of those memories. His heart refused to let go of any part of her after his head had made such a drastic mistake.